Demonstrating “Skinny TV” Options @ INTX

05 May 2015

For many consumers, TV and Internet services go hand in hand. But OTT providers-recently Sony, Dish/Sling, and HBO-are challenging that model and enticing consumers to consider new "Skinny TV" packages, which offer a select lineup of channels that can appeal to "cord nevers."

The emerging challenge for service providers is two-fold: consumer migration from traditional TV services and the bandwidth strain of supporting OTT.

But there’s a simple solution: if service providers deliver their own version of “Skinny TV,” not only can they recapture subscriber video revenue, but they can also leverage the ARRIS Multicast system to reduce traffic by a factor of 20—and that’s what we’re demonstrating in our booth (#101) at INTX.

Our new ARRIS 24-Channel Streaming solution showcases the incredible efficiency of our Multicast system in offering an alternative to OTT. It also yields two distinct advantages:

Compatibility with Consumer Devices – ARRIS multicast system has intelligence in the network cloud and subscriber gateway to avoid OTT bandwidth bloating and maintain compatibility with consumer connected devices. From streaming video sources, Internet backbone, CMTS, and out through the DOCSIS network to the gateway, bandwidth efficiency is maximized with multicast protocols. From there, the gateway performs a simple protocol translation to ABR streaming protocols to be compatible with consumer devices.

Bandwidth Efficiency – Using multicast protocol through the network eliminates carrying a unique copy of every stream, thereby conserving bandwidth. This efficiency can be significant. For example, if 500 homes are consuming streaming services at 6 Mbps, then 3 Gbps of backbone and DOCSIS bandwidth is consumed. The same number of homes with multicast protocol consumes a mere 144 Mbps of bandwidth – a factor of 20 reduction.